Looking Forward

[Dahlia]

Ai found herself at the training ground more and more these days it seemed. Between working on her new jutsu and raising herself up, she'd been here more in the past two weeks than she had in the last three months. Perhaps she needed to request a mission, once she was sure she could leave her new student alone without him having a break down that is. Who though she was the best person to fix a damaged child anyways?

Ai shook the self doubting thoughts off choosing to look ahead towards the training area coming into view. It was a lovely day to visit them. The sun was bright and warm, and it was just late enough in the afternoon to be mostly empty. She smiled at the thought.

Ai was certainly right about the almost part when she got there. She spotted a single younger shinobi, male and around genin age she observed. He looked to be alone, and seemed familiar. She imagined she'd read a file on him at some point. Raising an eyebrow in interest she walked towards the boy making her presence obvious.

[Bolin!]

When it came down to it, Taro had essentially been in that training field all day. Despite having been out in the wider world, his experience with combat was still very lacking. There was that one time he helped defeat a rogue Spirit, but most of the hard work had been done by a much stronger man. So, knowing that he wasn't that strong, Taro decided it was better to practice his aim. That's why from the morning to now, he spent his day throwing various kunai or shuriken at targets both near and far. He had been so determined on practice, he didn't really notice that he was the only using the range by this time of the day. There was a lot of time through the day to think, though. At this point, he was now living alone in the Village; to be fair, he did have some sort of supervision from an elderly landlord, but that was really it outside of interaction with other Shinobi. Speaking of, it had been a few weeks since his return to his home. Sooner or later, he would find himself on a team again. He just wasn't sure how ready he was for that.

But suddenly, his thoughts and focus were broken by a woman entering his view. She was much older than him; a Jounin by the looks of her. It was enough to throw him off-balance, and his body reflexively stiffened. "Good afternoon, ma'am."

[Dahlia]

The boy was on the trailer side. She couldn't quite say he was what civilians would consider scrawny, but not very built for a ninja. Much like herself she supposed, but she was aware her inactivity left her a bit on the thicker side rather than the unusually skinny one. The mental comparison to herself had her interested. She wondered just how much of his time had been dedicated to genjutsu.

The greeting brought a grin to her face. "Ma'am eh?" Well that was just... "So formal and polite, mind if I ask what you're doing out here by yourself Precious?" The nickname seemed to fit. The boy reminded her a bit of a lost lamb after all.

A thought crossed her and she quickly added in. "Yatsuro Ai by the way, and if I'm right you're Shibata Taro."

[Bolin!]

It was honestly a bit disconcerting that this Jounin had known his name. If she knew his name now, it probably meant she was somewhat aware of the recents events of his life; about his sister-turned-traitor and his own return to the Village.

"Yes, Yatsuro-sama," he said to generally affirm her statements. It wasn't until after he replied that he noticed that she had referred to him as 'Precious'. It filled him with that kind of childhood embarrassment when being given a pet-name by a teacher. But more pressing was that she had asked him a question.

"I was training. Needed more practice with my aim." To be fair, most of his throws had been to the nearer targets - the ones that hit, at least.

[Dahlia]

Ai practically felt him tense up at the knowledge she knew who he was. She in turn kept herself as casual and relaxed as possible. For some reason it felt important to assure the kid she wasn't judging. She shook her head still smiling at the formal way he addressed her.

"None of that, I'm not old or important enough to be 'Sama'...Ai works fine," she said gently. She nodded at his answer tilting her head and glancing at his practice attempts so far.

"Hmm not sure so can help you there...pointy things aren't my specialty. However I don't think they're yours either." She smirked giving them a look over. "Genjutsu right?"

[Bolin!]

Again, the Jounin had hit the mark. Given, with his small frame, Taro was clearly not a fighter. If one really wanted to get technically, he wasn't really a slouch at Ninjutsu, either; but obviously, a life of emulating his sister had focused him in a certain way.

"Yes, m-," he stuttered for a moment, forgetting what she had said about formality. "Yes. Secondary focus in Ninjutsu, too... Ai."

He felt a little odd, talking to a Jounin alone like this. He still remembered the process of returning to the Village. He remembered the debriefs, and the questions about his sister. A part of him was just worried about more questions.

"Um, what could I help you with, Ai?" He couldn't help but be respectful with her. She was a Jounin, after all. She had served the Village for years. That was something that should be respected, in his mind.

[Dahlia]

Poor kid didn't seem like he knew what to do about being so casual with someone above his station. Ai made sure her posture stayed slouched and relaxed to give her a more easygoing appearance. She tilted her head with a bright smile ignoring how he almost called her "ma'am".

"Oh I was just curious, you seem to be working hard out here," she hummed imitating as if she were in thought, having honestly already decided on this before she even approached the boy. "In fact, I think I'd like to see what you can do, how about you show me some of your genjutsu?" she offered quickly adding in. "You don't have to worry about holding back on me, they don't call me "Deadly Mirage" for nothing." she winked at the boy playfully.

[Bolin!]

"Oh, okay."

This was irregular for the young boy. He hadn't really expected to be challenged like this. But he was kind of rusty; outside of a few encounters, he hadn't found need to use his Chakra when out traveling the world. Of course, he was going to do as he was asked, but he began with a clearing breath to calm himself.

He had to choose a technique first. That part was easy; she wanted his best. So, he thought of the best technique he had; one that, coincidentally, would result in harm for the Jounin. Next, were the seals. Those were the most important for this technique, she had to see them for it to work. One after another, they returned to his mind as he formed them with his hands - a strange kind of muscle memory.

With completion of the last seal, he looked to Ai and smiled meekly before his body scattered in a cloud of flower petals that danced through the air. At least, that was from her perspective. This was just a test, though, so he didn't plan to hide from her while it lasted. Once the effect lapsed - for one reason or another - she would find him standing before her.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Genjutsu • Flower Petal Escape]
C-Ranked Illusion Genjutsu
If the user comes under attack, they can use this technique to cover their escape. After forming the needed hand seals, the user's body will disperse into a shower of flower petals. Watching the hand seals being made is the trigger for the genjutsu. The petals will confuse and distract the opponent while the user escapes or hides.

[Dahlia]

There was always a certain art to genjutsu that Ai never failed to take in and appreciate. She sensed the trick right away, even if she hadn't been flat out expecting it she doubted the boy would have gotten her, but still for his rank and age it was impressive. There was talent there, and a beautiful artistry to the way he weaves his chakra into the mirage.

She let it run it's course rather than release it. Ai already knew her own skills, she didn't need to show them off to the genin and put his own down in the process. No, this boy needed to be raised up. Especially with his talent for genjutsu.

Ai smiled brightly once he reappeared tapping her chin. "Well now that was rather impressive for a genin...your chakra control could use some work, but in comparison to your age and rank you executed that technique quite masterfully."

[Bolin!]

Had he heard correctly? That was high praise coming from a Jounin. It was actually a good feeling; being recognized for all the hard work that he had put into learning these techniques. All to be more like his sister. To be just as capable as she was. Becoming a better Shinobi had always been tough for him; being as weak as he was, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu were his only viable options, and had been his focus ever since his training began. However, he did not ignore that he was informed of something to improve on. If there was something he needed to improve, he wanted to ensure that he gave it his best effort.

"Thank you, Ai," he replied with a slight bow. "I'll try my best to improve."

A small smile followed his words. Maybe it was the reminder of his own capabilities, or the human contact. But, it almost felt like his first real smile in weeks.